www.sea-technology.com November 2014 / st 35
ighting information is often times impeded when data gath-
ered by sensor platforms are fed back through the respective
service networks to analysis and fusion centers far removed
from tactical operations. That information is then fused, and
the collective picture is pushed forward to the users who will
beneft from it. However, due to the time lag, local tactical
pictures are often not necessarily consistent with the data
received. This issue becomes even more complex when na-
tional assets and coalition forces become a part of the mix.
Actionable tactical information is undermined when that in-
formation is not made available to the warfghter at the right
time, regardless of geographic location.
S
ituational Awareness is, in its simplest defnition, know-
ing what is going on around you. Maintaining your situ-
ational awareness and impeding the situational awareness
of your adversary has never been more critical than it is
now. To help address this need, the U.S. Navy is accelerat-
ing the development and deployment of UAVs and adding
new platforms, sensors and systems. With these additional
assets come a richness, volume and velocity of information,
as well as the challenge of how to deal with the terabytes of
data produced.
The shelf life of battlefeld information is short, and its
usefulness decreases rapidly with time. Today, critical warf-
Addressing the Navy's Need for
Collaboration and Connectivity
Lockheed Martin's Maritime Test Bed
By David Weddel
Lockheed Martin's maritime test bed helps assess and
quickly feld battlefeld sensing capabilities to expedite
the fow of intelligence—even in limited-bandwidth naval
settings.
(Photo
Credit:
U.S.
Navy)